About Yoda

How "Yoda" came to be.

It's funny how the one thing that you absolutely, completely, without a doubt DON'"T want...is the one thing that so wonderfully happens.

And that thing goes by the name of Yoda.

In the middle of June 2011, I was getting ready for some exciting things in life. Summer, air conditioning, the 16-month anniversary of my relationship, and Edie's birthday. A Jedi Master definitely wasn't in the picture. In fact, he was so far out of the picture that you'd need a spaceship to land on Dagobah. After a long struggle with what I already had, I decided to get Edie another birthday present. Granted, I had gotten her some great presents already -- a kitty keychain, puzzles, a lego set (for fun) -- but I wanted to get her something really special. So, the next day, while visiting Tar-jhay, I suddenly remembered that they have stuffed animals.. However, being the (sometimes obnoxiously) frugal guy that I am, I had to look at every stuffed animal in the section. After searching for at least 90 seconds, I could only find little pink bunnies and ugly frogs. When I was through, I started to walk away without attaining the goal I had originally set for myself: get.a.stuffed.animal.

Later that minute, after walking over three steps, I turned around only to find a rack of stuffed animals at the end of the aisle. I couldn't remember why I was turning around, so I just had to investigate. After scanning the bottom of the shelf, I suddenly saw a glint of green and bumpy little head near the top, and the curiosity of a ticklish bantha tingled down my neck. Was this a stuffed Yoda? Is he a nice Jedi? I don't want a Star Wars character, but it would be nice to have some incorrect syntax in my house. Why in the WORLD are you considering this thing, Jordy. Well, my inner nerd got the best of me, and after picking up a little bear and scowling in disgust, I decided what the heck, let's just look at the price tag. So I turned him over, stared at his butt, and saw that the price was a mere $20.

The minutes got longer and longer with every step, which quickly progressed into a trot. Approximately 38 seconds later, things got serious when I arrived at the cash register (which, by the way, was staffed by a guy with a shaved head. Needless to say I almost left Yoda behind and searched for a stuffed Mace Windu online!) 122 seconds after that, I was back in the car, settling Yoda into the passenger seat and steering into the HOV lane.  I made the boldest yet most honest statement of my life and told stuffed Yoda "I'm going to get pulled over by cops in a minute."

The moment that I fell in love [re-enactment]

On June 16, 2011 I finally gave the Jedi of my dreams to the squatter that lives in my house, eats my food, and cries a lot once a month. I never knew that someone could be so nervous and excited at the same time. Pacing back and forth in the bedroom, what was minutes felt like hours until, finally, I heard Edie say "I'm ready!" and I surrendered my dear, beloved Jedi to the squatter. I kissed him on the head before I let him go, and told Edie that she had to take good care of him. As the night came to a close we bowed our heads, and through his force powers, Yoda asked us to be his Padawans.

Well, the rest is history! With every day I fall more and more in love with this truly incredible stuffed puppet. Though I may not have wanted a Jedi Master (I'd like to call it my ghost-of-Obi-Wan moment ;) ), Yoda knew my heart better than myself and blessed us with his little green self.

I can't wait to see what Yoda will do with all the other things that I won't want :)